Energized by her newfound purpose —to live, instead of sulking on her mountain top like the filly she no longer was— Impazienza paused her circuit of the lower skirt of the Peak when she picked up the fresh scents of Inka and the Friesian’s growing daughter, Jetta. Their last conversation had been cut short by the draft mare’s own reluctance to sift through adolescent memories. She felt a bit guilty about it, not only because her abrupt departure from them both made her feel rude, but because she found she enjoyed Inka’s company each time the two of them came together. Jetta, too, was a pleasure to have around, and Impazienza found herself eager for company on the bright spring day. In her haste to be social, the draft mare failed to notice the other scents in the air as she neared the pair of Peak horses, although her ears twitched at the low murmur of voices through the still naked trees— the conversation almost sounded one-sided, and she wondered, as she caught a glimpse of Inka’s black hindquarters, if she was about to interrupt a mother’s lecture.
When Impazienza stepped out from the trees to join her fellow herd members, an apology already forming on her lips, her right eye landed on two unmistakably familiar strangers in her Peak: the first a tough, shrewd mare carrying the stout and elegant lines of a pure Friesian and the other a tall, black stallion whose presence filled her blood with ice as she raked her gaze from the thinning feathers at his hooves all the way up to his strong, solemn face— a face she flinched away from until she realized his eyes were not burnished hazel any longer. Impazienza recovered her aplomb quickly, pointing her ears at the two Friesians and staring expressionlessly from one to the other.
Sterre and Het Vuur were on her mountain. Older now, carrying their age well, but no longer the fearsome leaders of the Arch she recalled from her youth. She glanced at Sterre and nearly dropped her gaze, recalling her unwarranted and impulsive decision to challenge the older, more experienced mare for the position of lead, but she held steady in the face of her past. It had been more than a decade ago, and she was no longer an adolescent. She was the Prime Minister of this mountain, and they were on her turf now.
Her right eye shifted to Het Vuur, and she found she could only stand to look at his face because she was certain he could not look back. His eyes had always terrified her. It was almost a pity to see them clouded with age, but she would not deny the relief that warmed her as her shock receded. Impazienza turned her head to offer Inka and Jetta a warm smile as she relaxed further, dipping her head in a nod to the two of them before returning her attention to the two newcomers. Her mind was blank, and for a moment she worried that this second first impression would be as humiliating as the first, but her lips parted almost of their own accord and she found her voice.
“Sterre, Het Vuur. Welcome to the Peak,” she greeted the two former monarchs in a steady voice, and was pleased at her success in maintaining her composure.
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